Types of cyberbullying you need to be aware of
Flaming
A confrontation often happening on message boards or other public online spaces, this usually entails one or more bullies attacking a particular person for their views or comments. The abuse can include harsh images, cruel language and even threats.
Exclusion
This is a singling-out of the targeted person. They are purposefully excluded from chats or ignored on message boards, but to add insult to injury, those who are ignoring that person will often send nasty comments to them or otherwise harass them.
Harassment
This happens when a bully or bullies repeatedly attack one particular person. The harassment might be done in one online space, such as a message board, or it might spill over to other areas, such as text messaging and various social media.
Cyberstalking
This is a type of harassment that involves one or more bullies going to great lengths to gather information about a particular person, continually frightening or threatening them, following them around social media and other sites, and potentially crossing the line into physical stalking and opportunity for physical harm.
Outing
This is the malicious release of personal and private information about a person, usually with the intent to embarrass or humiliate. The outing might take the form of pictures, videos or screenshots, or it could be spiteful rumors about someone's personal life, sexuality or other private information.
Masquerading
This happens when a bully creates a fake identity to harass someone anonymously or to impersonate someone else, often called “fraping,” such as pretending to be the victim or a significant other. The bully might also sign up on various social media sites and masquerade as the victim, creating a negative reputation for the victim.
Trolling
Trolls try to provoke victims through the use of insults, controversial topics or off-topic posts into acting out in a similarly angry way. The provocation includes personal attacks on the victim.
Catfishing
This refers specifically to those cyberbullies who steal photos and information from a victim's social media account and recreate a fake one of their own, mimicking and pretending to be the victim. This can be especially damaging to college students, who might be befriended by or researched by current or future employers online.
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